The group of postwar artists nicknamed the Monster Roster established the first unique Chicago style.

Spearheaded by Leon Golub and united by a shared interest in the figure during a period that is often seen as dominated by abstraction, the group created deeply psychological works that drew on classical mythology and ancient art.

This is the first major exhibition to examine the history and impact of the Monster Roster, which has been overlooked despite being one of the most important Midwestern contributions to the development of American art. It examines not only the complex aesthetics and personal styles of Golub and his compatriots—including Cosmo Campoli, June Leaf, Dominick Di Meo, Seymour Rosofsky, and Nancy Spero, among others—but also uncovers the Monster Roster’s relationships with preceding generations of Chicago artists and differences from the well-known Chicago Imagists who followed.

Monster Roster brings together approximately 60 major paintings, sculptures, and works on paper from the Smart Museum and other collections in order to provide the definitive account of the movement, from the formation of Exhibition Momentum in 1948 to the group’s dispersal in the mid 1960s.

Catalogue

The exhibition is accompanied by an in-depth catalogue featuring full-page color reproductions of all works in the exhibition as well as a detailed chronology, historical photos, reprints of key texts by Jean Dubuffet and Franz Schulze, and new essays by the exhibition curators and Dennis Adrian, Jon Bird, Thomas Dyja, Mark Pascale, and Arlene Shechet.

Curators

Support

The exhibition and catalogue have been made possible in part by the Estate of Gerald and Eunice Ratner, the Terra Foundation for American Art, the Smart Museum’s Pamela and R. Christopher Hoehn-Saric Exhibition Fund, the Efroymson Family Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Ulrich E. and Harriet H. Meyer. Additional support is provided by the Biff Ruttenberg Foundation and the Karla Scherer Center for the Study of American Culture at the University of Chicago.

Presented in the Richard and Mary L. Gray Gallery and the Robert and Joan Feitler Gallery.